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Murder rate slides but guns still rule

Rachel Olding

SYDNEY'S murder rate has halved in the past decade, falling to its lowest level in recent history.

But Sydney's streets are no safer, said Don Weatherburn, the director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

Homicide cases have dropped from 88 in 2001 to 43 this year, reflecting a statewide trend in which murders fell from 119 to 77. The rate of one homicide per 100,000 people is the lowest Dr Weatherburn can remember.

''The puzzle is that homicide is coming down but assault isn't so I don't think it's fair to say we're becoming less violent,'' he said. ''One possibility is that emergency medical procedures have improved so fewer people are dying of their injuries.''

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The percentage of murders committed with a firearm has declined across Australia since 1999 to about 15 per cent. This is often attributed to stricter gun laws passed after the Port Arthur Massacre, yet gun violence has not declined accordingly.

In Sydney there were 22 drive-by shootings in August and October this year, sparking fears of a rise in tit-for-tat gun crime. There were 74 murders in Melbourne in the 12 months to July.

Clive Small, a former detective and police assistant commissioner, said Sydney had come a long way from the ''bloodbaths'' of the late 1990s when violence raged in Cabramatta and between members of the Middle Eastern community.

''We seem to go through periods when we've got criminals who are actually trying to kill one another and periods when they're just trying to shoot up someone's house for payback or just asserting control and those two don't necessarily go together,'' he said.

''At the moment we seem to be having drive-by shootings but no genuine attempts to kill people and that could be part of it. It's been a while since we've had open warfare with gangs trying to kill each other.''

Improvements in policing are thought to have contributed to Sydney's falling murder rate, including crackdowns on Middle Eastern crime, gang violence and domestic violence.

Familial homicide, or murder committed by a spouse or relative, accounts for about 40 per cent of murders in NSW.

Howard Brown, vice-president of the Victims of Crime Assistance League, said police had taken a new approach to domestic violence that included removing the offender rather than the woman from the family home and being more proactive on breaches of apprehended violence orders and bail conditions.

''That prevents the escalation and that's the thing that is vital,'' he said.

A shift in management structure from micro-management or ''management by fear'' to engaging in more community initiatives has resulted in a tougher stance on alcohol-related and organised crime, said a policing expert and former detective, Michael Kennedy.

Knives are still the most common murder weapon, accounting for 35 per cent of murders.

''Unfortunately we are excellent at dealing with stabbings,'' said Gordian Fulde, the head of emergency at St Vincent's Hospital.